The Heiress
by Teefa and Co
Summary: When Virginia begins acting a little wierd, Jet follows her one morning. She then tells him about her family history. Intended to introduce a theory that'll be used in future fics.


This takes place between "In Too Deep" and "Looking For Her". Just a little bit about a theory I have, that'll be used in many of my other fics.

- - - - 

The Heiress

It was late at night, and the four Drifters had just made camp. Clive began building a fire, while Gallows began to look in his pack for a small flask of liqueur he'd brought along. Jet sat against the lone tree, with his arms behind his head, muttering about how he couldn't wait until they got to a town.

But Virginia seemed to be quite distant from the others that night. She was staring right in front of her, as if she was looking at the movement of monsters in the fields. Although no demons or beasts had dared to come close, they saw the fire and knew that danger was imminent if they attacked.

"Virginia?" inquired Clive, "Is something the matter? You're not yourself this evening."

  
"I'm ok Clive. All I want is to just be by myself at the moment. To be by myself and contemplate our situation. After all, I'm the leader, and I've got to make sure that my team is going to be safe with all of the monsters and bounty hunters that might try to kill us. Thus, I must think about our next move, and make sure to make the right decision to keep us out of trouble," Virginia replied.

Jet didn't believe her one bit. She often did think about what to do next, but she never got lost in thought like she was now. He wondered what was really wrong? She wasn't depressed, he already knew the way she acted when she got depressed, and she definitely didn't seem sad about something or other. So what exactly had happened this time, and why was she so lost in thought?

He knew that the answer wouldn't come tonight. She probably wouldn't say anything in front of Gallows and Clive, but she might tell him alone, later on. So he decided to talk to her first thing in the morning, after the two of them had woken up. Gallows slept in every day, and Clive would spend his mornings scouting the area, if he hadn't overslept. Thus, that was the time they usually talked a little bit more intimately than they did in front of their friends. It was also when they talked about each other's secrets. As he thought about exactly how he would ask her about her condition, Jet fell asleep.

* * *

Jet woke up early the next morning. He looked from person to person, and realized that Virginia wasn't anywhere to be seen. Her sleeping bag was ruffled, she hadn't had time to fold it up before she'd left, and her nightgown was strewn on the ground nearby. A strange smoke was rising up from the north. Wondering what had become of his wife, and if she was or was not the source of the smoke, Jet began to search in that direction. Soon, he found Virginia, but something was different about her.

Virginia was dressed in a blue robe, bordered with gold on the sleeves, and the neck. A golden scarf was wrapped around her waist, like a belt. Her hair wasn't even in its usual braid, being worn down, and she hadn't even put on her headband. The Teardrop was being worn around her neck, on a golden cord. She seemed to be in a trance of some sort, and was staring out into space.

Virginia whispered, "I don't even know what to do anymore. How can I tell Jet about all of this? Does he even know what all the other people think is true, the information that might lead to my death? Raftina, can you guide me in some way, and tell me exactly what I should do?"

  
Jet couldn't hear any reply come from the Guardian of Love. But apparently, Virginia had heard something. "Thank you Raftina. I knew you could help me out. I'll talk to Jet the second he wakes up."

  
"Talk about what Virginia?" asked Jet, "About why you were so distant last night? Or why you just disappeared in the early morning hours without telling anyone, even me, where you were going?"

Virginia turned around, and saw Jet standing there. Now that she had moved, Jet could see that she had been sitting before what appeared to be some sort of portable alter. It looked like a miniature model of the Fallen Sanctuary, specifically the place with the pillars to the Guardians.

"Oh, Jet, I didn't see you there. I've got to talk to you about my past, I mean, my heritage. From my mother's side of the family, I inherited the blood of the Adlehyde family, the Shamans," she admitted.

Jet stated, "I don't even know what a Shaman is. So why would you think that I would want to kill you upon finding out that you are one? Is being a Shaman something bad?"

  
She looked into his eyes, full of concern for her. "The Shamans are and are not bad. They are thought to be the summoners of a demon that attacked the world a thousand years ago. But in reality, they were just calling forth the Guardians for assistance in order to protect themselves from the wicked one until someone could come forward to kill him. People had begun freaking out after the demon died, and mistook the Shaman's calls to the Guardians for the calling of demons. Thus, the beautiful Kingdom of Adlehyde was burned to the ground, and most of its residents were slaughtered. Man, woman, child, even the unborn were murdered by the crazed populace."

"That's terrible," Jet said, "I never even went off and killed innocent children. Maybe I took part in some shady dealings in the past, but I wasn't interested at all in bounty hunting."

"My mother told me this story when she was on her deathbed. She wanted to wait until I was older, but she knew that she needed to tell me before no one was left to instruct me in these things. For to tell a person that you are a Shaman is certain death. So Daddy, Aunt Shalte, and Uncle Tesla didn't know a thing about her true identity. I am the only heir she has," lamented Virginia.

Jet told her, "You're the least likely person to be summoning demons. I won't do you any harm, my love. In fact, if anyone tries to kill you for being a Shaman, they're going to face me and my gun."

Virginia smiled. "Thank you, Jet. Do you want to hear more about my mother's ancestry, and the inheritance I have gained from being a Shaman? It's a long story, but we have all the time to tell it."

"Sure," Jet answered, "Not like I have anything better to do. I'll listen to your story."

  
"Janus wasn't completely wrong about me when he called me Princess. Although he meant it as a tease, he had no idea that he was addressing a real royal descendant. Out of all the Shamans, I am the descendant of the last prince of the Kingdom of Adlehyde, Rudolph Adlehyde," she said.

~ ~ ~ ~

The Adlehyde family went back nearly two thousand years. In those days, the demon war was only a few hundred years gone, and humans were trying to get their lives back together. One day, a young woman came in contact with one of the Guardians, and agreed to be their avatar, the person to connect them to the real world. They gave her a magical gem, and aided her in founding a kingdom that she called Adlehyde, which meant "Land of Light". It was decreed that all her descendants would also be able to call on the power of the Guardians if needed, but the females would be especially good at it. They would be the ones that the Guardians would deal with, unless there was no daughter, and some 

emergency was occurring that required the Guardians to fight against the demons once again.

Now it became more or less a tradition to only have one child in the family, so the Shaman blood wouldn't get too wide, and the power falling into the wrong hands. But 1,200 years ago, after the Second Demon War, that all changed. Queen Cecilia Lynn Adlehyde and her consort Rudy Roughnight gave birth to twins, named Erin and Edward. Although Erin ran away from home at a young age, not wanting to face a life of learning how to be a sorceress, and wanting instead to use ARMs like her father, Eddie still had her in his mind when he got married to a girl named Jacklyn Van Burace, the daughter of his parents' mutual friends Jack and Elmina. He wasn't shy about having more than one child. In fact, one of his daughters ended up marrying a Baskar Priest spilling Shaman blood into the tribe. As the generations went by, and more than one child was being born to the royal family, the Shaman blood began to spread throughout the world. Eventually, they all began to move to Adlehyde, and the kingdom became known as the Kingdom of Shamans. All learned the sacred arts of Crest Sorcery and how to commune with the Guardians, but only the Royal Family was able to use the power of their sacred gem.

But a thousand years ago, a demon called Lord Blazer, or the Blaze of Disaster, attacked Filgaia. The Shamans had prayed to the Guardians for protection, and it was granted. No blows were struck against Adlehyde during the whole conflict. That is, until the people slaughtered them.

The Guardians were furious. Great droughts, fires, earthquakes, sandstorms, tidal waves, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other disasters began to strike out against the people of Filgaia. Many innocents lost their lives, including those who had believed in the Shaman's innocence. Suddenly, Prince Rudolph cried out for all the bloodshed to stop. He had seen enough carnage, and he didn't want any more to occur. They then realized what they had done, and settled down once more. The prince hid away the sacred gem of his family, and changed his surname to Roughnight, after his ancestor, and began going by his nickname of Rudy. He later on had a son, who had a son, who had a son, ect., all going by the ancient custom of having one child, so the royal blood was not spread out so much. Sons were born every generation up until her mother, and then her.

~ ~ ~ ~

Jet stated, "That was quite a depressing story Virginia. But those that survived, they continued the tradition, didn't they? It looks like you, at least, have a good grasp of how to use your powers."

  
She looked at him, and smiled. "Only a little, the stuff my mother managed to teach me before her death. I can use the ancient magic called Crest Sorcery, but I don't in a place where people might be able to see what I really am, lest I get killed for being what I am. Yes, each Shaman taught their children how to use his or her powers, so the art hasn't died out completely. When my mother died, some of her Shaman friends even came to the funeral to pay their last respects to her."

"This gem," mused Jet, "The one your ancestor hid. Do you know where it is? If so, I will be willing to help you find it, if you want to return it to your family's hands."

  
"I already have it in my possession," Virginia admitted. She held up the Teardrop.

Jet exclaimed, "That is your family's treasure?! No wonder the demons wanted it so badly, if it was a gift from the Guardians, it must have amazing powers."

  
She nodded. "It does. I must protect it at all costs, if it is no longer hidden. But I feel a sense of peace when I wield it. I was shocked too, when Raftina informed me of what it really was."

"If you're a sorceress of some sort," inquired Jet, "Then why are you so interested in ARMs?"

  
"Well, the magic comes from my mom's side of the family, but ARMs are a tradition on my dad's side. He's the descendant of a famous Bounty Hunter/Dream Chaser - - which was what Drifters were called back then - - named Calamity Jane Maxwell. She existed at the same time as Cecilia Adlehyde, and she helped out the trio of Adlehyde, Roughnight, and Van Burace on several occasions. Both of them taught me, and fostered an interest in those fields," she told him.

Jet asked her, "Well, now that we've had a revealing conversation, do you want to go back to the camp? I'm sure Clive and Gallows might get suspicious if we're away too long."

Virginia ran ahead of him. "You bet I do. Let's race there. Last one there's a rotten egg." With that, she ran at top speed back towards the camp. Jet smiled a bit, and then he followed her.

- - - -

****

Teefa's Last Word...

Well, I do always come up with the strangest theories. Here's why I think Ginny is Cecilia's descendant. . .

****

She's a sorceress: Gallows is good with magic because he's a priest. But there's no explanation for why Virginia is so good with magic. But if she learned Crest Sorcery, and just doesn't use it in fear of being hurt by someone, she would have a reason for being skilled in the field.

****

Mystic: Both Cecilia and Lilka - - who are also Crest Sorceresses - - can use the Force skill Mystic. Now, Jet, Gallows, and Clive have a Force skill that emulates the way they were trained. But Virginia was trained to fire Duel Pistols by her dad, and no explanation is given to why she uses this skill. If we go with the theory of her prior introduction to magic, we would see a reason for her using Mystic.

****

Nothing is known about her mother: Other than the fact that she chose Werner over Leehault, died at a young age, and her favorite flower is a Tiny Flower, not much was told concerning Ektrina Maxwell. What if she had such powers, and taught them to her daughter?

****

Interest in Guardians: Whenever something goes on, Virginia seems to ask the most questions. She is also the most disappointed by the way the Fallen Sanctuary looks. You could chalk it all up to her curiosity, but I kind of like this theory.

****

Teardrop: In WA1, the Innocent One (Cecilia) was the wielder of the Teardrop (it was a tool). It is also said that the Teardrop can only be used by the Adlehyde family. How do you use the Teardrop in WA3? You Mystic it. And who uses Mystic? Virginia.

****

Tools: Her Tools are Crests, kind of like the graphs that Cecilia and Lilka used in previous games.


End file.
